Watchfinder’s sponsorship of ITV4’s Tour de France coverage boosted visits to the pre-owned watch specialist’s website by 30% in July, the company claims.

The watch trading business says that 1.3 million people visited its website in July, an increase of 300,000 in a month. The Tour de France has seen its popularity increase dramatically over the past 10 years thanks to the success of Sir Bradley Wiggins and more recently this year’s winner for the fourth time, Chris Froome.

The success of Watchfinder’s partnership with the Tour de France has encouraged the company to sponsor ITV4’s coverage of La Vuelta a España, which started in the French city of Nimes on Saturday.

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With Chris Froome once again favourite to win in Madrid, the company will be looking for another boost in traffic over the coming weeks.

Watchfinder Director Matt Bowling said: “The ITV4 coverage of the Tour de France was hugely entertaining and the reaction to our sponsorship was overwhelmingly positive. With another exciting race in prospect we hope this deal will strengthen our association with a fantastic community of cyclists who share our passion for performance and precision.”

Unlike the Tour de France, La Vuelta a España is not covered live, but there is a highlights show for each stage of the race.